Michele Marie Bumgarner was born on September 2, 1989 in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. She is a distinguished race car pilot coached by former world karting champion Terry Fullerton. She made her debut into single seater racing with the National Karting Series in the Philippines in 1999 at the age of 10, and has progressed rapidly since. She is currently involved with the Asia-Pacific Karting Championships in Japan, Shell Super Karting Series, Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC), and the Italian Masters Series.
Bumgarner, 19, made history on September 19, 2008, by winning the Tag Seniors crown, becoming the first female champion in Rock Island, Illinois Grand Prix, the world’s largest street kart racing. The 7th foreign-born winner in its 14-year history, Michele steered the Margay Team to a 1-2-3-4 finish with 11 minutes and 24.144 seconds. She said: “This will stick with me my whole career. Everyone goes on about how great this race is and it’s special that this is my first time here and my first win here. I hope to come back.”